Editing Culture of Canada (section)

===Identity===
{{Main|Canadian identity}}
[[File:Stenciled identity.jpg|right|thumb|The [[maple leaf]] is the symbol most associated with [[Canadian identity]].]]

Canada's large geographic size, the presence of a significant number of indigenous peoples, the conquest of one European linguistic population by another and relatively open [[immigration policy]] have led to an extremely [[ethnic groups in Canada|diverse society]]. As a result, the issue of Canadian identity remains under scrutiny.<ref>MacGregor, p.39</ref>

Canada has constitutional protection for policies that promote multiculturalism rather than [[cultural assimilation]] or a single national myth.<ref name="DeRoccoChabot2008">{{cite book|first1=David|last1=DeRocco|first2=John F.|last2=Chabot|title=From Sea to Sea to Sea: A Newcomer's Guide to Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eqg8e7LLEOYC&pg=PA13|year=2008|publisher=Full Blast Productions|isbn=978-0-9784738-4-6|page=13}}</ref> In Quebec, cultural identity is strong, and many commentators speak of a [[Culture of Quebec|French Canadian culture]] as distinguished from English Canadian culture.<ref name="FranklinBaun1995">{{cite book|first1=Daniel|last1=Franklin|first2=Michael J.|last2=Baun|title=Political culture and constitutionalism: a comparative approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtvKidOH9pgC&pg=PA61|year=1995|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-1-56324-416-2|page=61}}</ref> However, as a whole, Canada is in theory, a [[cultural mosaic]]—a collection of several regional, and ethnic subcultures.<ref name="English2004">{{cite book|first=Allan D.|last=English|title=Understanding Military Culture: A Canadian Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z1OcatV808wC&pg=PA111|year=2004|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-7735-7171-6|page=111}}</ref><ref name="CarrollTom2005">{{cite book|author1=Burgess, Ann Carroll|author2=Burgess, Tom|title=Guide to Western Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TuggI-Ye_AUC&pg=PA31|year=2005|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|isbn=978-0-7627-2987-6|page=31}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

As Professor [[Alan Cairns]] noted about the '' Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms '', "the initial federal government premise was on developing a pan-Canadian identity"'.<ref name="saunders">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/constitution/|title=The Charter at 20|last=Saunders|first=Philip|date=April 2002|website=CBC News Online|publisher=[[CBC/Radio-Canada]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060307194214/http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/constitution/|archive-date=March 7, 2006|access-date=March 17, 2006}}</ref> Pierre Trudeau himself later wrote in his ''Memoirs (1993)'' that "Canada itself" could now be defined as a "society where all people are equal and where they share some fundamental values based upon freedom", and that all Canadians could identify with the values of liberty and equality.<ref name="Trudeau 1993 p. 323">{{cite book | last=Trudeau | first=P.E. | title=Memoirs | publisher=McClelland & Stewart | year=1993 | isbn=978-0-7710-8588-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqsJbzlwtwsC&pg=PA323  | page=323}}</ref>

Political philosopher Charles Blattberg suggests that Canada is a "[[Multinational state|multinational country]]"; as all Canadians are members of Canada as a civic or political community, a community of citizens, and this is a community that contains many other kinds within it. These include not only communities of ethnic, regional, religious, and civic (the provincial and municipal governments) sorts, but also national communities, which often include or overlap with many of the other kinds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/3084986|title="Canadian Identity" and "Canadian Identity and Language"|first=Charles|last=Blattberg|publisher=University of Montreal|year=2013|ssrn=2238333|access-date=December 12, 2019|archive-date=August 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815225536/https://www.academia.edu/3084986|url-status=live}}</ref>

Journalist and author [[Richard Gwyn (Canadian writer)|Richard Gwyn]] has suggested that "tolerance" has replaced "loyalty" as the touchstone of Canadian identity.<ref name="Gwyn2008b">{{cite book|first=Richard J.|last=Gwyn|title=John A: The Man Who Made Us|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xN7jXe0H5FwC&pg=PA265|year= 2008|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-0-679-31476-9|page=265}}</ref> Journalist and professor [[Andrew Cohen (journalist)|Andrew Cohen]] wrote in 2007:
{{Blockquote |The Canadian Identity, as it has come to be known, is as elusive as the [[Bigfoot|Sasquatch]] and [[Ogopogo]]. It has animated—and frustrated—generations of statesmen, historians, writers, artists, philosophers, and the National Film Board&nbsp;... Canada resists easy definition.<ref name="Cohen2008zxc">{{cite book|first=Andrew|last=Cohen|title=The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glcBcaMC6doC&pg=PA3|year= 2008|publisher=McClelland & Stewart|isbn=978-0-7710-2286-9|pages=3–}}</ref>}}

Canada's 15th prime minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] in regards to uniformity stated:

{{Blockquote |Uniformity is neither desirable nor possible in a country the size of Canada. We should not even be able to agree upon the kind of Canadian to choose as a model, let alone persuade most people to emulate it. There are few policies potentially more disastrous for Canada than to tell all Canadians that they must be alike. There is no such thing as a model or ideal Canadian. What could be more absurd than the concept of an "all-Canadian" boy or girl? A society which emphasizes uniformity is one which creates intolerance and hate.<ref name="Hines2018">{{cite book|first=Pamela|last=Hines|title=The Trumping of America: A Wake Up Call to the Free World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yFnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA180|date=August 2018|publisher=FriesenPress|isbn=978-1-5255-0934-6|page=180}} -Pierre Elliott Trudeau, as cited in The Essential Trudeau, ed. Ron Graham. (pp.16 – 20)</ref>}}

In 2015, Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]] defined the country as the world's first [[Postnationalism|postnational state]]: "There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Foran |first=Charles |date=2017-01-04 |title=The Canada experiment: is this the world's first 'postnational' country?|work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/04/the-canada-experiment-is-this-the-worlds-first-postnational-country |access-date=2023-12-04 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The question of Canadian identity was traditionally dominated by three fundamental themes: first, the often conflicted relations between English Canadians and French Canadians stemming from the French Canadian imperative for cultural and linguistic survival; secondly, the generally close ties between English Canadians and the [[British Empire]], resulting in a gradual political process towards complete independence from the imperial power; and finally, the close proximity of English-speaking Canadians to the United States.<ref name="Marger2011">{{cite book|first=Martin N.|last=Marger|title=Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aW4jOatwxkwC&pg=PA433|year= 2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-111-18638-8|page=433}}</ref> Much of the debate over contemporary Canadian identity is argued in political terms, and defines Canada as a country defined by its government policies, which are thought to reflect deeper cultural values.<ref name="Kennett1998">{{cite book|author=Steven Alexander Kennett|title=Securing the Social Union: A Commentary on the Decentralized Approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_fiXKP7ZPEC&pg=PA6|year=1998|publisher=IIGR, Queen's University|isbn=978-0-88911-767-9|page=6}}</ref>

In 2013, nearly nine in ten (87%) Canadians were proud to identify as Canadian, with over half (61%) expressing they were very proud. The highest pride levels were for [[History of Canada|Canadian history]] (70%), the [[Canadian Armed Forces|armed forces]] (64%), the [[Healthcare in Canada|health care system]] (64%), and the [[Constitution of Canada|Constitution]] (63%). However, pride in Canada’s political influence was lower at 46%. Outside Quebec, pride ranged from 91% in British Columbia to 94% in Prince Edward Island, while 70% of Quebec residents felt proud. Seniors and women showed the most pride, especially among first- and second-generation immigrants, who valued both Canadian identity and achievements.<ref name="d680">{{cite web | title=Highlights | website=Statistics Canada | date=2015-10-01 | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-652-x/2015005/hl-fs-eng.htm | access-date=2025-03-02}} Text was copied from this source, which is available under the [https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/reference/copyright Statistics Canada Open Licence]</ref>

==== Inter-provincial interactions ====
{{Main|Western alienation|Distinct society}}
[[File:Calgary political protest 1.JPG|thumb|Demonstrators in [[Calgary]], Alberta, protesting the coalition of opposition parties attempting to take control of Parliament during the [[2008 Canadian parliamentary dispute]]]]
[[Western alienation]] is the notion that the [[Western Canada|western provinces]] have historically been alienated, and in extreme cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in favour of [[Eastern Canada]] or more specifically the [[central Canada|central provinces]].<ref name="Wesley2011o">{{cite book|first=Jared J.|last=Wesley|title=Code Politics: Campaigns and Cultures on the Canadian Prairies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_c5TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|year=2011|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-2077-6|pages=21–23}}</ref> Western alienation claims that these latter two are politically represented, and economically favoured, more significantly than the former, which has given rise to the sentiment of alienation among many western Canadians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4524787/western-canadians-alienation-ipsos/|title=Western Canadians still feel more connected to their province than to country as a whole: Ipsos – Globalnews.ca|date=October 8, 2018|website=globalnews.ca|access-date=May 12, 2019|archive-date=May 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512070849/https://globalnews.ca/news/4524787/western-canadians-alienation-ipsos/|url-status=live}}</ref> Likewise; the [[Quebec sovereignty movement]] that lead to the [[Québécois nation motion|Québécois nation]] and the province of Quebec being recognized as a "[[distinct society]]" within Canada, highlights the sharp divisions between the Anglo and Francophone population.<ref name="Blake2007">{{cite book|first=Raymond B.|last=Blake|title=Transforming the Nation: Canada and Brian Mulroney|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f6KiHZe3KVgC&pg=PA265|year=2007|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-3214-4|pages=265–267}}</ref>

Though more than half of Canadians live in just two provinces (Ontario and Quebec), each province is largely self-contained due to provincial economic self-sufficiency. Only 15 percent of Canadians live in a different province from where they were born, and only 10 percent go to another province for university. Canada has always been like this, and stands in sharp contrast to the United States' internal mobility which is much higher. For example 30 percent live in a different state from where they were born, and 30 percent go away for university. [[Scott Gilmore]] in ''[[Maclean's]]'' argues that "Canada is a nation of strangers", in the sense that for most individuals, the rest of Canada outside their province is little-known.  Another factor is the cost of internal travel. Intra-Canadian airfares are high—it is cheaper and more common to visit the United States than to visit another province. Gilmore argues that the mutual isolation makes it difficult to muster national responses to major national issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/canada-a-nation-of-strangers/?sfi=1c19d41d13bc01bd139ed1efb9272ccf|title=Canada: A nation of strangers|publisher=[[Maclean's]]|first=Scott|last=Gilmore|quote=Canada: A nation of strangers: Canadians don't often move out of their birth province. We vacation elsewhere. We barely know each other. We're now unable to muster national responses to big issues|date=May 8, 2019|author-link=Scott Gilmore|access-date=July 3, 2019|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814013216/https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/canada-a-nation-of-strangers/?sfi=1c19d41d13bc01bd139ed1efb9272ccf|url-status=live}}</ref>